Katie Miller

Nov 10, 2014

Professor Burke
Eng 414
LSW Historical Fiction

One element of the novels, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, historical setting
that is essential to the story is the Puritan life style. Since Kits aunt and uncle live in
a Puritan settlement in Connecticut during the late 1600s it is important that the
reader gets a good sense of what life what like then because it pertains a lot to the
story. Without known the struggles and every day life, the story will not make as
much sense. Also this element is important because the life style in unfamiliar to Kit
as well. They focus more on education and simple things, which is a big historical
element. She doesnt feel like she can be herself, which is why she likes to spend
time with Hannah Tupper. This is a main part of the story and it would be unclear
without the historical setting of the Puritan life style.
Along with the Puritan life style, another essential element is the political
unrest in the colonies. During this time period, wars broke out because the
independent states of the country were not unified. This is essential for the story
because the reader needs to understand the tensions in the colonies and with other
colonies. These tensions affected life, so it is important for the reader to grasp the
hardships these people endured. Life was very different during this time period

because the country was still developing, so the political unrest of the country is
essential for the story to make sense.
The religious tensions are another important element of the historical
setting. People experienced a lot of religious issues in England so they travelled to
America for religious freedom. This element is important for the story because Kit is
not use to the Puritan ways and she does not feel comfortable with it. The religious
tension with her aunt and uncle are a large part of development of the story. Her
discomfort with the religion created conflict in the story. There were also issues
with other religions near that caused issues for the colonists. This goes along with
the political unrest, because it cause issues amongst the settlers.
Most of these historical elements result in Kit bonding with Hannah, which is
a large part of the story and Kit has to make decisions because of it.